Today’s coronavirus news: Third ship off Nfld. coast has COVID cases; Canada to allow vaccinated Americans to cross the border Aug. 9; Ontario reports 130 COVID-19 cases, no new deaths – Toronto Star
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Monday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
6 p.m.: After weeks of pressure from the business community, and some push and pull from the premiers and the public, the federal government has finally revealed some of its plan to reopen Canada’s international borders — one more major step toward a full economic recovery.
Let’s own that decision and make the most of it, writes Star columnist Heather Scoffield.
The measures allowing fully vaccinated Americans into Canada in early August — and then granting that access to the rest of the world in September — will give the travel, tourism, accommodation and entertainment industries a big boost at last.
We’re getting close to the moment so many companies, big and small, have been waiting for.
Yes, the plan is cautious. No partially vaccinated people without quarantine. Everyone will still have to have a negative COVID-19 test before arrival. Proof of vaccination will have to be uploaded to the ArriveCAN app or website. Only vaccinations approved by Canada will be acceptable. Some travellers will still face random testing upon arrival so public health officials can track variants of concern.
But caution has served Canada’s economy well in the past, and at a time when the world is skittish about the unpredictable nature of the variants of concern, caution can serve us well again.
Read the full column from Heather Scoffield here.
5:45 p.m.: British Columbia is reporting 156 new cases of COVID-19 for the past three days.
The province says there were also two additional deaths during that three-day period between Friday and Monday, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,763 since the pandemic began.
As of Monday, it says almost 80 per cent of eligible people 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and about 53 per cent have received their second dose.
The province says there are 653 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
5:45 p.m.: Alberta is reporting a total of 130 cases of COVID-19 from Friday until Sunday.
That includes 38 new cases Sunday, 43 on Saturday and 49 on Friday.
There are 100 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 27 in intensive care.
A total of 2,316 Albertans have died due to COVID-19.
5:25 p.m.: Dr. Andrew Boozary has witnessed many people walk away from vaccination clinics upon hearing that their second dose would be a different brand than their first.
Boozary, who is with the University Health Network, told the Star misinformation about mixing brands is one of the factors contributing to Ontario’s vaccination numbers trending downward and on Sunday hitting the lowest single-day vaccine total since May 24.
“There’s a disconnect between any of the recommendations or even a perceived disconnect that can cause people fatigue, and some mistrust,” Boozary said, adding this leads to people not stepping forward for a first or second dose. “We’re really trying to continue to push uphill together and I think … (addressing) vaccine hesitancy is an important piece for engagement.”
Read the full story here from Danica Samuel
5:20 p.m.: United Airlines (UAL), other air carriers and cruise ship operators like Carnival (CCL) were lower on Monday as concern about the rise of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 put travel stocks on the defensive.
At last check United Airlines was down 4.8 per cent, Southwest (LUV) was off 3.8 per cent and American Airlines (AAL) was off 5.1 per cent.
Among the cruise operators, Carnival was down 5.5 per cent, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) was off 6.2 per cent, and Royal Caribbean (RCL) was off 4.5 per cent.
The delta variant of COVID-19 has been spreading rapidly in parts of Asia, including Japan where the Olympics will begin Friday, and in the U.S. Delta is the most transmissible COVID variant yet, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told CNN. Experts said it was worsening the rise in cases among unvaccinated Americans.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday that the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. is becoming “a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
5:15 p.m.: Alberta Health says it has now administered five million doses of COVID-19 vaccine across the province.
Officials say in a news release that 5,056,062 doses have been delivered through Alberta Health Services, pharmacies and clinics.
Nearly 75 per cent of eligible Albertans have received at least one dose of vaccine and 59.7 per cent are fully immunized.
3:30 p.m.: Saskatchewan is reporting 16 new cases of COVID-19 today and no additional deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.
Health officials say a total of 1,350,671 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province.
Seventy-four per cent of people 12 and older have received at least one dose and 59 per cent are fully vaccinated.
There are 55 people in hospital with the disease, including nine patients in intensive care.
3:07 p.m.: Newfoundland and Labrador health officials say a third ship is now anchored off the coast in the St. John’s area with COVID-19 cases among its crew.
The Department of Health said today in a news release four crew members have tested positive for the disease on a ship anchored off the coast of Bay Bulls, N.L., about 30 kilometres south of the provincial capital.
It doesn’t identify the vessel but ship-tracking websites indicate a Portuguese fishing trawler called the Santa Cristina is anchored in the bay.
The department says the four cases aboard the ship were confirmed over the weekend.
Meanwhile, 31 crew members on the Princesa Santa Joana, another Portuguese fishing vessel, tested positive for COVID-19 last week, and 14 seafarers on the Iver Ambition, a bitumen tanker with Italian flags, tested positive earlier this month.
Those two boats are anchored in Conception Bay, about 27 kilometres west of St. John’s, and the department says their case numbers remain unchanged.
2:47 p.m.: Manitoba is reporting 37 new cases of COVID-19 today and one more death attributed to the novel coronavirus.
The province’s five-day test positivity rate is 3.6 per cent.
Manitoba moved into the second phase of its reopening plan over the weekend, under which restrictions on businesses and group sizes are relaxed.
There are 117 Manitobans hospitalized with COVID-19 and 27 are in intensive care.
1:35 p.m.: Fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents can enter Canada for non-essential travel beginning Aug. 9, while travellers from other countries can enter beginning Sept. 7, the federal government announced Monday.
Those travellers will not need to quarantine for 14 days, similar to the rules announced earlier this month for fully vaccinated Canadians returning from non-essential travel.
Canada will also remove the requirement for travellers to quarantine for up to three days in a government-authorized hotel on Aug. 9.
The government will also be changing its testing requirements upon arrival. Fully vaccinated travellers will no longer need to be tested upon arrival as of Aug. 9, unless they have been randomly selected for testing at a border crossing or airport.
Travellers will still need to present a suitable quarantine plan in case it is required, as well as show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of arrival.
Read the full story from the Star’s Jacques Gallant.
12:43 p.m.: Ontario schools must have a “post-vaccine mindset” for the fall and plan for a full slate of extracurricular activities, given the lack of sports and clubs during pandemic lockdowns disproportionately hit needy kids the most, say experts who are speaking to coaches and teachers around the province about the upcoming school year.
Christopher Booth, an oncologist and public health science professor at Queen’s University, recently gave a presentation to school athletic co-ordinators across the province about the return of fall sports for students.
His presentation — based on consultations with dozens of pediatricians, infectious diseases experts, teachers, coaches, senior board administrators, and Ontario’s public health leadership — looks at how extracurricular activities could be included in September.
Read the full story from the Star’s Kristin Rushowy here.
12:42 p.m.: After a series of successive record-breaking vaccination days in Ontario earlier this month, the number of daily doses administered in the province seems to be on a downward trend, provincial data suggests.
Just over 91,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the province Sunday.
Around 10,300 of these were first doses, while the remaining 81,014 were second doses administered.
This was the lowest single-day vaccine total for the province since May 24. According to the Star’s vaccine tracker, this means approximately 20 per cent of all eligible Ontarians are still without their first dose of vaccine.
Read the full story from the Star’s Akrit Michael here.
12:37 p.m.: New Brunswick is reporting no new cases of COVID-19 today.
Health officials say the number of active reported cases in the province is eight and no one is hospitalized with the disease.
Officials say about 58.1 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated and 80.4 per cent have received at least one dose.
12:33 p.m.: Ontario colleges and universities can fully reopen this fall with no capacity limits for classes or physical distancing requirements for students, says a government memo obtained by the Star.
However, face masks will still be required indoors, the memo says, adding that schools should also hold vaccine clinics and offer rapid, asymptomatic COVID-19 testing while continuing to promote good hygiene and maintain additional cleaning measures.
The missive, sent Friday to institutions, is a first glimpse at what post-secondary life will look like come September and signals the government is looking for a return to near-normal after more than a year of disruption because of the pandemic that put an end to almost all in-person classes, frosh week and extracurricular activities, as well as campus life.
Read the full story here from the Star’s Kris Rushowy.
11:30 a.m.: Quebec is reporting one death attributed to the novel coronavirus and 239 new cases of COVID-19 since its last report, 61 of which are from the past 24 hours.
Health officials say that since their last report on Friday, hospitalizations dropped by six, to 78, and 23 people were in intensive care, a drop of two.
The province says 53,370 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered Sunday.
Quebec’s public health institute says 83 per cent of Quebecers 12 and up are vaccinated with at least one dose while about 55 per cent are considered fully vaccinated.
10:29 a.m.: Recreation and community centres are reopening to the public in Toronto starting Monday. The changes are part of Ontario’s third stage of reopening and include: swimming, indoor recreation programs, fitness programs, and accessible recreation.
Indoor social gatherings and organized public events are limited to 25 people or 50 per cent maximum capacity.
Masks are required indoors but can be removed during physical activity. Physical distancing of two metres is required for indoor and outdoor activities.
10:15 a.m.: Ontario reporting 130 cases of COVID-19 and 0 deaths Monday. Locally, there are 18 new cases in Toronto, 17 in Peel Region, 16 in the Region of Waterloo, 14 in Hamilton, 10 in Grey Bruce and 10 in Middlesex-London.
The seven-day average is up to 155 cases a day or 7.5 weekly per 100,000 & flat at 6.1 deaths a day.Labs report 11,567 completed tests (fewest outright since May 26, 2020) & 1.0 per cent positivity rate.
9:55 a.m.: Ontario administered 91,320 vaccine doses Sunday, fewest since May 24. 10,306 were first doses, while 81,014 were second doses. Ontario is averaging 159,000 doses a day. 10.28 million Ontarians now have at least one dose, or 69.7 per cent of the total pop ulation and 80.1 per cent of adults 18 and older.
9:52 a.m.: Caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is urging people to work from home again amid a recent spike in coronavirus infections in the Netherlands.
Dutch infection rates shot up shortly after the government relaxed almost all lockdown measures last month, including allowing nightclubs to reopen.
Rutte subsequently apologized, called the easing an “error of judgment” and ordered nightclubs and discotheques to close again until mid-August.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Netherlands soared over the past two weeks from just under 5 to nearly 59 new cases per 100,000 people on July 18.
Health Minister Hugo de Jonge says the daily number of new infections appears to be stabilizing, “but is, of course, too high.”
9:50 a.m.: Stocks are opening broadly lower on Wall Street, echoing losses overseas, as investors become more worried about a resurgence in global infections of COVID-19.
The benchmark S&P 500 was down 1.2% in the early going Monday, and Treasury yields moved lower as investors moved money into U.S. government bonds. European markets were taking bigger losses of between 2% and 3%. Crude prices fell 3% after major oil producing nations agreed to raise production limits. Indonesia has become a new epicenter for the pandemic as outbreaks worsen across Southeast Asia. Many nations have been hit with the more rapidly transmitted delta variant.
9:10 a.m.: Businesses in England warned Monday that a “pingdemic” of people receiving notifications on their phones telling them to self-isolate threatens to lead to widespread staff shortages and mayhem across the economy just as lockdown restrictions are lifted.
Though nightclubs and other entertainment venues cheered the lifting of all remaining restrictions on social contact, they are increasingly grappling with staff shortages as the National Health Service’s test and trace app informs people they came into close proximity with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.
Supermarket chain Iceland and pub owner Greene King had to close certain locations due to the self-isolation requirements affecting their staffs.
There are also warnings of shortages of goods in supermarkets, cuts in production at factories and potential transport chaos, as illustrated by Saturday’s closure of the Metropolitan Line on the London Underground, due to key staff being pinged.
Mike Lynch, general secretary of The Rail, Maritime and Transport union warned that England’s so-called “Freedom Day” could “very easily collapse into chaos day.”
9:10 a.m.: North Macedonia began vaccinating children age 12 and over against the coronavirus on Monday in a bid to prevent a possible spike of COVID-19 in the fall, when the country plans to fully open schools.
Health authorities said that only about 1,800 teenagers had booked appointments through an electronic health system for their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which authorities consider to be the safest for children.
Authorities said the small number of young people registering to get vaccinated reflected parental concerns about potential side effects.
North Macedonia’s health minister, Venko Filipce, reiterated that mass immunization is the only way to end the pandemic and encouraged parents to have their children vaccinated.
So far North Macedonia has vaccinated about a quarter of its 2 million people.
The European country has reported dozens of new confirmed virus cases in the past week, mainly involving the more contagious delta variant.
8:05 a.m.: Canada has fully vaccinated 48.8 per cent of its population against Covid-19, overtaking the U.S. rate for the first time after a delayed start caused by procurement troubles and distribution bottlenecks.
In the U.S, where vaccinations are plateauing in some regions, 48.6 per cent of the population is fully inoculated.
Of those old enough to get the vaccine in Canada, 55% have now received two doses, according to calculations by CTV News based on provincial and federal government data. Health authorities have approved the Pfizer Inc. shot for children 12 years and older.
Rapid progress in the vaccine campaign — Canada had fully vaccinated about 3 per cent of its population by the middle of May — is opening the way for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to relax travel restrictions on the eve of a likely election campaign. The government will announce details of the new border rules Monday.
7:50 a.m.: An alternate on the United States women’s gymnastics team has tested positive for COVID-19 in an Olympic training camp in Japan.
Olympic champion Simone Biles was not affected, nor were any of the other favourites to win the team gold, but another alternate was placed into isolation because of contact tracing, USA Gymnastics said Monday.
“One of the replacement athletes for the women’s artistic gymnastics team received a positive COVID test on Sunday, July 18. After reviewing the implemented COVID protocols with members of the delegation, the local government determined that the affected replacement athlete and one other replacement athlete would be subject to additional quarantine restrictions,” the USAG statement said. “Accordingly, on Monday, the Olympic athletes moved to separate lodging accommodations and a separate training facility, as originally planned, and will continue their preparation for the Games. The entire delegation continues to be vigilant and will maintain strict protocols while they are in Tokyo.”
The positive test was the latest in a growing line of daily reports of athletes and others testing positive at the pandemic-delayed Olympics. The unnamed gymnast was the first American.
“The health and safety of our athletes, coaches and staff is our top priority. We can confirm that an alternate on the women’s artistic gymnastics team tested positive for COVID-19,” the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement. “In alignment with local rules and protocols, the athlete has been transferred to a hotel to quarantine. Out of respect for the individual’s privacy, we cannot provide more information at this time.”
The four alternates — Leanne Wong, Kayla DiCello, Emma Malabuyo and Kara Eaker — travelled to Japan with the six-woman U.S. delegation of Biles, Jordan Chiles, Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee, MyKayla Skinner and Jade Carey.
7:45 a.m.: Iran on Monday imposed a week-long lockdown on the capital, Tehran, and the surrounding region as the country struggles with another surge in the coronavirus pandemic, state media reported.
The lockdown — the nation’s fifth so far — will begin on Tuesday and last until next Monday. All bazars, market places and public offices will close, as well as movie theatres, gyms and restaurants in both Tehran province and the neighbouring province of Alborz.
Iran reported 25,441 new cases on Monday and 213 deaths over the past day, bringing the overall death toll to 87,374 from among more than 3.5 million confirmed cases in the pandemic.
During an earlier surge in cases, in April, Iran reported the highest daily number of cases, 25,582. At the time, its daily death tolls surged to around 400, below the grim record of 486 reached last November.
6:10 a.m.: A third athlete at the Olympic Village in Tokyo has tested positive for COVID-19 with the Czech Republic team reporting the latest case Monday.
Beach volleyball player Ondrej Perušic’s opening game in seven days’ time is now at risk after a PCR test confirmed his infection.
Perušic and his playing partner were due to the begin their Olympic program on July 26 against opponents from Latvia.
Czech team leader Martin Doktor said in a statement they would ask to postpone the game until the infected player is cleared to play.
Perušic, who said he has been vaccinated, is the second member of the Czech delegation to test positive in Tokyo after a team official’s case was reported Saturday.
He is the third athlete who was staying at the village to test positive. Two South African men’s soccer players had their COVID-19 cases announced Sunday.
6 a.m.: Ontario colleges and universities can fully reopen this fall with no capacity limits for classes or physical distancing requirements for students, says a government memo obtained by the Star.
However, face masks will still be required indoors, the memo says, adding that schools should also hold vaccine clinics and offer rapid, asymptomatic COVID-19 testing while continuing to promote good hygiene and maintain additional cleaning measures.
The missive, sent Friday to institutions, is a first glimpse at what post-secondary life will look like come September and signals the government is looking for a return to near-normal after more than a year of disruption because of the pandemic that put an end to almost all in-person classes, frosh week and extracurricular activities, as well as campus life.
And it comes as at least one college — Seneca, in Toronto — has decided that anyone wanting to learn on campus this fall must be vaccinated, and also as the Ford government looks at how to handle the return of in-person learning for elementary and secondary students — a highly anticipated plan that is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Read more from the Star’s Kristin Rushowy.
5:25 a.m.: Corks popped, beats boomed out and giddy revelers rushed onto dancefloors when England’s nightclubs reopened Monday as the country lifted most remaining restrictions after more than a year of lockdowns, mask mandates and other pandemic-related curbs on freedom.
For clubbers and nightclub owners, the moment lived up to its media-given moniker, “Freedom Day.” But the big step out of lockdown was met with nervousness by many Britons, and concern from scientists, who say the U.K. is entering uncharted waters by opening up when infections are not falling but soaring.
As of Monday, face masks are no longer legally required in England, and with social distancing rules shelved, there are no limits on the number of people attending theatre performances or big events.
For nightclubs, this is the first time they have been allowed to open in almost 18 months, and from London to Liverpool, thousands of people danced the night away at “Freedom Day” parties starting at midnight.
But while entertainment businesses and ravers are jubilant, many others are deeply worried about the British government’s decision to scrap restrictions at a time when COVID-19 cases are on a rapid upswing due to the highly infectious Delta variant first identified in India. Cases topped 50,000 per day last week for the first time since January, although virus deaths remain comparatively low so far.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has dialed down talk of freedom in recent weeks, urged the public to exercise “prudence and respect for other people and the risks that the disease continues to present.”
4:50 a.m.: Toyota won’t be airing any Olympic-themed advertisements on Japanese television during the Tokyo Games despite being one of the IOC’s top corporate sponsors.
The extraordinary decision by the country’s top automaker underlines how polarizing the Games have become in Japan as COVID-19 infections rise ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony.
“There are many issues with these Games that are proving difficult to be understood,” Toyota Chief Communications Officer Jun Nagata told reporters Monday.
Chief Executive Akio Toyoda, the company founder’s grandson, will be skipping the opening ceremony. That’s despite about 200 athletes taking part in the Olympics and Paralympics who are affiliated with Toyota, including swimmer Takeshi Kawamoto and softball player Miu Goto.
Nagata said the company will continue to support its athletes.
Being a corporate sponsor for the Olympics is usually all about using the games as a platform to enhance the brand. But being linked with a pandemic-era Games may be viewed by some as a potential marketing problem.
Toyota Motor Corp. signed on as a worldwide Olympic sponsor in 2015, in an eight-year deal reportedly worth nearly $1 billion, becoming the first car company to join the IOC’s top-tier marketing program.
4:30 a.m.: The federal government is expecting to receive about 7.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this week, as it adjusts its distribution strategy amid waning vaccination rates and substantial supply.
The new deliveries will include about 3.1 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and four million doses of Moderna.
“In the coming weeks, we will cross a symbolic threshold of 66 million doses, signalling that there are enough doses in Canada to vaccinate every currently eligible Canadian,” Brig.-Gen. Krista Brodie said Thursday at a virtual news conference from Ottawa.
Brodie, who is overseeing the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the country, said Canada is moving to a “more nuanced” approach as the supply of doses is on the verge of outstripping demand.
More than two million doses of vaccine are already being held back because provinces have said they can’t use them yet, she said.
The move marks a shift away from the early strategy of sending doses around the country as quickly as possible after they arrive.
“As we pivot from limited supply to sufficient supply, we are implementing a more nuanced approach to ensure that the vaccines are stewarded in a manner that best supports Canada’s enduring domestic needs, as well as optimizes options for supporting global vaccination efforts,” Brodie said.
Provinces can draw more doses from the reserved amount when and if they need to do so.
Canada’s vaccination rate remains among the highest in the world, but is starting to slow as the pool of people still looking for a first or second dose shrinks.
Canada has already said it plans to donate the remaining 17.7 million doses in expected shipments of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to the COVAX global vaccine-sharing alliance.
Those doses will be shipped to developing countries that are nowhere close to the level of immunization Canada now enjoys. In Africa, about three per cent of the population has now received at least one dose, and 1.4 per cent are fully
